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Tuesday, 29 September 2015

With MAC coming out with a new collection every thirty seconds, it's easy to do one of the following: 1) buy everything and regret later; or 2) miss out on everything and regret immediately. A lot of products are repromotes, or are similar to shades released in other collections, both permanent and limited edition. My idea behind a "Do the Dupe" series is that I can do a short review on products past and compare them to others that I have in my collection. Some of these might be limited edition products that you can no longer buy (but may have already bought), others might be permanent items that you could go out and get today.

Ideally, it'll assuage two kinds of guilt: potentially yours, for missing out on a particular item, and possibly mine, for not getting a timely review out.

MAC teamed up with Miley Cyrus earlier this year to release her first Viva Glam set. If you're new to the idea of Viva Glam (and everyone is at some point or other), it's a charitable cause for which the whole selling price of the lipstick or lipglass goes towards helping people with AIDS. Not the proceeds, not the profits, the whole thing -- it's a pretty great excuse to buy a lipstick.

The Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 1 lipstick is described as a "hot pink" with an amplified crème finish; it's a super bright, blue-based pink that is delightfully creamy on the lips.

If for whatever reason you were unable to purchase Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 1, here are a few dupes to keep in mind:

MAC Good Kisser | From the limited edition Novel Romance collection, this has a touch more red, and has a matte finish.

MAC Diva-ish | From the limited edition MAC is Beauty collection, I think is almost exactly the same shade. It looks a fraction darker, and has an amplified finish.

MAC No Faux Pas | From the Heirloom Mix collection, this lipstick is brighter, more pink and has a matte finish.

MAC Damn Glamorous | From the limited edition Novel Romance collection, this is a much deeper, redder pink with a matte finish.

After some side-by-side comparison? Of course you are!

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil - Fuchsia Desire

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick - As You Want Victoria

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer - Apocaliptic

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: MAC Good Kisser

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: MAC Diva-ish

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: MAC No Faux Pas

Left: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Right: MAC Damn Glamorous

The Viva Glam Miley Cyrus 1 lipglass is described as a "hot pink with sparkling pearl". It's a fuchsia-toned pink with pink and blue iridescent sparkles that is more sheer on the lips than in the tube.

I dug through my collection to see what I might have that is comparable, and this is what I was able to come up with:

Revlon Colourburst Lip Gloss - "Hot Pink" | The colour is very similar, perhaps slightly lighter. There is some very fine iridescent shimmer.

CoverGirl Colorlicious Lip Gloss - "Fruitylicious" | This gloss is a deeper, brighter fuchsia with what seems to be a violet and pink duo-chrome microshimmer. It has more opacity in application, too.

ModelCo Shine Ultra Lip Gloss - "Showgirl Red" | A very sheer, much lighter, red-flushed pink. It seems to have a little microshimmer in the tube that doesn't really translate onto the lips.

CoverGirl WetSlicks Fruit Spritzers - "Raspberry Splash" | A lighter, sheerer, more natural pink. It appears to have microshimmer that also doesn't really show up on the lips.

Thursday, 24 September 2015

One of the saddest days in cosmetics history was when I discovered, quite by accident, that Revlon had discontinued their Lip Butter lipstick range in Australia.

Why, Revlon?! Why did you do this to me? I was going to make like a Pokémon Master and get them all!
﻿

The prettiest pretties of them all.

I had thought that the Lip Butter lipsticks were a cult item, but apparently not, because their range was deleted to make way for the newer, more stylish Ultra HD lipsticks. Even so, I have half a dozen of these to show you today, so you're going to get my thoughts on them as you would with any other product review.

Delicious creamy and wonderfully smooth, the Revlon Lip Butters were the kind of sumptuous lipsticks that you really didn't mind forking out a slightly more premium price for. Their diamond pattern on the casing, all grouped within colour families... they were cute, kinda preppy-looking and they delivered on pigment, shine and comfort.

I have six of these gorgeous little darlings to reminisce with you about today, so let's get cracking!

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters - swatches

Crème Brulee | This is a semi-sheer, nude brown. I bought it thinking that it was more golden than it really was, and it makes for a nude that is relatively close to my skin tone. It's because of this that it's a low maintenance shade, as I don't need to worry too much about eating when I apply it.

Wearing Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Crème Brulee"

Raspberry Pie | This shade a deep, glossy, berry-toned pink -- truly a raspberry shade! Its application could be slightly uneven at times, so it paid to layer it and even it out. It's a shade that I imagine would've been flattering on the majority of skin tones.

Wearing Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Raspberry Pie"

Invite Only | You may remember from thispost that this shade is nowhere near as opaque as it looks in the tube. It's an incredibly sheer icy blue with blue shimmer that is very wearable. I couldn't ever locate it on the Revlon website; it was one of those odd little gems that you'd need to find by accident.

Wearing Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Invite Only'

Tutti Frutti | Oranges usually aren't my cup of tea, but I saw this in a reduced to clear bin at Myer and decided to snap it up anyway! It applies more evenly and opaque than many of the other shades of my collection, but I haven't really had much opportunity to use it. It looks more coral in the tube than when applied.

Wearing Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Tutti Frutti"

Provocative | Like Invite Only, this was a shade that looked jewel-toned but was actually quite sheer once applied. It's a delightful lavender-purple with blue shimmer that provided lips with a slightly glittery yet wearable tint. I've never been able to see this on the Revlon site either.

Wearing Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Provocative"

Candy Apple | I feel like this is a true red that can be worn semi-sheer or built up to a more glossy, opaque finish. It's a really great kind of low-maintenance red, for those days when you don't want a red that's big and bold and in your face.

Wearing Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in "Candy Apple"

The thing that I have really enjoyed about the Lip Butters was how they gave really great pigmentation whilst feeling like a lip balm. I very rarely feel like I need to exfoliate my lips beforehand, and only if my lips were drier than the Sahara would patches show up. They weren't cheap, by any means -- I think they were around $21 or $22 -- and I wonder if the Ultra HD line, which seems to have taken over, are better. They're more expensive than the Lip Butters were, so I'd hope so!

I'm disappointed that this line was discontinued, as it was one that I always liked to have a look at whenever I visited Priceline or Chemist Warehouse. I'd planned to add more berries and pinks to my collection in the future, so it's a little sad that I've missed out (let it be known, though, that my wallet is perfectly fine with it).

Do you have any Lip Butters in your own collection? Have you tried the newer Ultra HD lipsticks? Let me know in the comments!

Monday, 21 September 2015

Since the first episode of Serial aired last year, the world seems to have become crazy about podcasts. I was decidedly less so. I had two podcasts that I liked to listen to, both of which were about Doctor Who and both of which I only listened to occasionally, mostly because one releases episodes occasionally and the other kind of drops off my radar once the Doctor Who season is over.

Harsh(ish) truth bombs on Diary of a Beauty Padawan since 2015.

Still, I got into podcasts in a big way this year, and there are several that I really just love to listen to, whether it's so I can learn more about a topic or so I can have someone nattering on in the background while I work. I finally decided to listen to Serial at the start of the year, and it reinvented my love for mysteries -- anyone who knows me will tell you that 90% of the shows I watch are crime shows, and now 90% of the podcasts I listen to are about crime as well.

So, in no particular order -- okay, in alphabetical order -- here are the numerous podcasts that I love wasting my time with.

The British History Podcast

I'm not afraid to say that I'm an Anglophile -- someone who loves Britain and loves British history and even sometimes tends to sound British (although it's usually by accident). I really can't begin to say how much I love reading about English history, but my current schedule doesn't allow much time for it and that's where this podcast comes into it. Narrated by a lovely British-American chap named Jamie, The British History Podcast starts from the very start of British history and is still going, four years later. Four years, 172 episodes and it's only up to the year 685 BCE -- I'm in heaven!

Subscribe to the British History Podcast if you: love history, or want to hear old stories come to life with a charismatic voice.

Criminal

After finishing Serial, I needed another true crime fix right then and there -- but I refused to subscribe to just any podcast. Criminal was the first one I chose to subscribe to, and I haven't looked back. Narrated by Phoebe Judge, this podcast looks at all kinds of crime, with episodes released on a monthly base. The selling point for me with Criminal is that each and every episode is edited to sound somewhat grave and spooky -- pick the wrong episode on the wrong night, and you might feel afraid to turn out the light!

Subscribe to Criminal if you: want true crime episodes that are short, sharp and sweet.

Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour Podcast

The first podcast that I ever subscribed to, Joe and Chris of the Eleventh Hour podcast (or, as most people say, Chris and Joe) are two chatty English guys who get together every week during the Doctor Who season to chat about the week's episode. They don't broadcast off-season, and their Christmas episodes are notorious for being obscenely late, but this podcast and the community of people that subscribe to it are essentially a little Doctor Who family -- it's a lot of fun!

Subscribe to the Eleventh Hour Podcast if you: enjoy watching Doctor Who, don't feel like committing to a podcast all year round, or want to get weird looks from people on public transport as you suffer from fits of silent giggles to something Chris has said. It happens to me every episode.

Doctor Who: The Pharos Project Podcast

I don't listen to this podcast as much as I have in the past, and I don't really get involved in their part of the Doctor Who community, but they're still a neat podcast to listen to, especially if you don't mind the occasional swear or five. Hosted by Chris, Pete and Paul, the Pharos Project releases episodes every week, but they're not all strictly about Doctor Who. They're fun to listen to because of this very factor -- the podcast breaks up the sci-fi talk with chatter about other topics, and you don't have to feel guilty if you miss an episode or two.

Subscribe to the Pharos Project if you: enjoy Doctor Who but also like to change it up, want to keep up-to-date with Doctor Who-related news, want an enjoyable yet casual listening experience.

The Generation Why Podcast

This is my favourite true crime podcast -- and it ranks equal with the Eleventh Hour podcast as my favourite of all time. Justin and Aaron are the skippers of this ship, and I firmly believe they do a great job. They discuss murder, mysteries, and conspiracies on a weekly basis, researching into cases more than I would to get the gory details, and there have been several cases that have stuck with me too, because of it. Mondays are no longer as terrible as they used to be, either, because I know that I've got a fresh dose of Generation Why to look forward to.

Subscribe to the Generation Why Podcast if you: want a variety of true crime and conspiracy topics to listen to, like a dark sense of humour.

History Extra Podcast

The History Extra Podcast is the sister of the History Extra magazine. I've said earlier that I'm a big British history nut, so it's natural that I'm a subscriber to this podcast. That being said, I'm only an occasional listener, only downloading episodes that I know I will be interested in, and listening if I've got nothing left to listen to. It's good to have a back-up! Each episode of the History Extra podcast discusses two different topics, as they chat a particular author or historian who has written about it. They've probably covered something for everyone, so it's worth having a scroll through the feed list.

Subscribe to the History Extra Podcast if you: love history, but want some variety in the history you listen to.

Missing Maura Murray

I heard about the Maura Murray cold case from listening to the Generation Why podcast, and it was one of those cases that stuck with me to the point that I was constantly trying to find more information to read about it, to see if I could make sense of it (who was I kidding, right?). This podcast is based around a documentary that's due to come out next year (I think) about her disappearance and what may have happened to her.

Subscribe to the Missing Maura Murray Podcast if you: are interested in the Maura Murray disappearance.

Serial

This is a podcast with maybe only a dozen subscribers or so -- truly a tiny piece of the internet -- but honestly so worth a listen. Wait, what was that? I shouldn't take the mickey? Okay, okay. Everybody and their sister has heard of Serial since it blew up the internet last year; I didn't start listening to it until the start of 2015, but it's captivating narrative style immediately caught my attention and kickstarted my love for mystery podcasts. That's all I have to say about it.

Subscribe to Serial if you: want to dip your toes into podcasts.

True Murder

I subscribed to this podcast when I ran out of episodes of Criminal and Generation Why, but still wanted a variety of crime episodes to listen to. The audio quality really does make you think of an old-school radio when you listen to it, but whether or not that's by design, I can't say (I suspect it could be a little bit of both). It's hosted by journalist and author Dan Zupansky (a phrase I love so much that from now on I shall only call him Journalist-and-Author-Dan-Zupansky), who interviews other authors about the true crime books that they've written.

Subscribe to True Murder if you: have exhausted your current true crime supply, love long episodes.

Undisclosed

If you know Serial, you'll undoubtedly know about Undisclosed, the podcast run by Rabia Chaudry, a lawyer and family friend of Adnan Syed who is trying to get him freed. As far as the case goes, I don't really have a side -- I'm not Team Adnan-is-Guilty, I'm not Team Adnan-is-Innocent -- and I'm not really a dedicated listener to the podcast either. I subscribed to this before I had found True Murder, when I wanted something interesting to listen to that was related to true crime. This podcast does have a side, but they're up front and clear about that; Rabia hosts with two others (Susan Simpson and Colin Miller) to kind of help keep her a little more level, so to speak. I wouldn't call this a podcast that you "must" subscribe to; if you listened to Serial and enjoyed it, but aren't really too fussed to hear more about the case, you don't need this. It's interesting though, by all means.

Subscribe to Undisclosed if you: want to listen to more regarding the Adnan Syed case.

It's clear that when you have this many subscriptions that you should never want for anything to listen to, especially if you're like me and like to listen right from the very start, then slowly work your way up to the present day. These channels might not be for everyone, but they're right up my alley -- and if you're interested, you should give them a go!